"Let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit." Isaiah 45:8

Carney's preparations for serving in South America

Thanks for checking out our blog! Here is where we'll chronicle the "learning opportunities" God provides for us as we seek His will in partnering full-time with Christian Veterinary Mission in Bolivia

13 January 2013

A departure from the usual blog, but we had a really cool 9th birthday yesterday and I'd like to share a bit about it! We are huge Tolkein fans, so a Hobbit party was just
the ticket for Caleb.

"In a hole in the barn there lived a hobbit. Not a dirty,wet hole, but a snug barn loft..."

Our downstairs neighbor!

Caleb was Burglar Baggins and his friends were outfitted with dwarf beards. After a brief description of the the story for those who didn't, the kids were given a map across the Misty Mountains to the Lonely Mountain and Smaug.

With the soundtrack playing in the background we blunted the knives and chipped the plates--the kids thought it was hilarious to throw paper plates and bowls around the loft and at each other!

Flying plates!

Troll tag--one was appointed the troll and tried to tag the dwarves. Bilbo could free them, and game was over when the sun came up--flashlight on the troll. All were rewarded with glowstick swords, "Sting" from the troll's trove

Caleb and his "precious" won from Gollum's game of riddles in a cave of black plastic in the eaves.

We then entered Mirkwood forest and ate some chocolatepretzel spiders.

Burglars had to free the "dwarves" from the spiderwebs (individual bags of candy in lieu of a regular pinata).

Last stop: Lonely Mountain. Pin the arrow on Smaug's missing scale to reclaim the treasure (gold and gem candies).

Bag End cake. Sadly the house was warm and out chocolate tree on top melted!

Gandalf and the dwarves arrive!

Gifts! Creative wrapping in Elvish from awesome Uncle Rick! Fantastic presents from all-thanks for all the fun things!

Lembas for the journey ahead

Thanks to our friends and family that crowded 18 people into our tiny apartment and hay loft to make a memorable event for us all. Blessings to Caleb in his ninth year of life and the beginning of the adventure that lies ahead. Thanks to "The Given Life" blog for inspiration http://welivethegivenlife.blogspot.com.

09 January 2013

R.A.I.N.

January 2013

Resolution Keeping

A new year, a new semester, new everything in the works! Same God though! How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions, now that we are a week or so in?

A teacher friend was just talking about her excitement every new semester because you truly get a fresh start—new students, new course material, new schedule. That is such an exciting thing to have multiple times a year compared to other jobs that seem to drag on the same way for days to years.

Guess what, though?! God makes us new and refreshes us every day to try new and exciting things for His sake. Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” We don’t have to be professors to enjoy that fresh start! Whether our job changes or stays the same, our attitude toward it and who we are serving through it can be refreshed every day.

With this, I challenge you to add another resolution! To accept God’s mercy every morning and proclaim it boldly to others.

We are getting more and more excited about our theoretical “change” in job description. Is our job really changing though? All of God’s children are called to “go and make disciples” wherever we are, so only our location is changing. Yes, our daily lives will be different, but our calling remains.

See these happy smiles? These are some of the girls at a girls’ home (orphanage) in Santa Cruz with their chickens. This will be one of the small differences in our lives—this project was begun by my predecessor and involves veterinary students in the care of chickens. This enables these kids to have extra protein and learn how to raise their own chickens so they can eat now and in the future.

We are so looking forward to getting there ASAP, especially since Lauren Spears, another CVM vet, has returned to the US to serve in a different role with CVM. There is a huge gap to fill where she was at the university and in communities, so we really feel the pressure to be there serving. Just a few dozen more people committed to monthly financial support and we can look at one-way tickets! Will you help us?

R.A.I.N.

January 2013

Resolution Keeping

A new year, a new semester, new everything in the works! Same God though! How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions, now that we are a week or so in?

A teacher friend was just talking about her excitement every new semester because you truly get a fresh start—new students, new course material, new schedule. That is such an exciting thing to have multiple times a year compared to other jobs that seem to drag on the same way for days to years.

Guess what, though?! God makes us new and refreshes us every day to try new and exciting things for His sake. Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” We don’t have to be professors to enjoy that fresh start! Whether our job changes or stays the same, our attitude toward it and who we are serving through it can be refreshed every day.

With this, I challenge you to add another resolution! To accept God’s mercy every morning and proclaim it boldly to others.

We are getting more and more excited about our theoretical “change” in job description. Is our job really changing though? All of God’s children are called to “go and make disciples” wherever we are, so only our location is changing. Yes, our daily lives will be different, but our calling remains.

See these happy smiles? These are some of the girls at a girls’ home (orphanage) in Santa Cruz with their chickens. This will be one of the small differences in our lives—this project was begun by my predecessor and involves veterinary students in the care of chickens. This enables these kids to have extra protein and learn how to raise their own chickens so they can eat now and in the future.

We are so looking forward to getting there ASAP, especially since Lauren Spears, another CVM vet, has returned to the US to serve in a different role with CVM. There is a huge gap to fill where she was at the university and in communities, so we really feel the pressure to be there serving. Just a few dozen more people committed to monthly financial support and we can look at one-way tickets! Will you help us?

R.A.I.N.

January 2013

Resolution Keeping

A new year, a new semester, new everything in the works! Same God though! How are you doing on your New Year’s resolutions, now that we are a week or so in?

A teacher friend was just talking about her excitement every new semester because you truly get a fresh start—new students, new course material, new schedule. That is such an exciting thing to have multiple times a year compared to other jobs that seem to drag on the same way for days to years.

Guess what, though?! God makes us new and refreshes us every day to try new and exciting things for His sake. Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” We don’t have to be professors to enjoy that fresh start! Whether our job changes or stays the same, our attitude toward it and who we are serving through it can be refreshed every day.

With this, I challenge you to add another resolution! To accept God’s mercy every morning and proclaim it boldly to others.

We are getting more and more excited about our theoretical “change” in job description. Is our job really changing though? All of God’s children are called to “go and make disciples” wherever we are, so only our location is changing. Yes, our daily lives will be different, but our calling remains.

See these happy smiles? These are some of the girls at a girls’ home (orphanage) in Santa Cruz with their chickens. This will be one of the small differences in our lives—this project was begun by my predecessor and involves veterinary students in the care of chickens. This enables these kids to have extra protein and learn how to raise their own chickens so they can eat now and in the future.

We are so looking forward to getting there ASAP, especially since Lauren Spears, another CVM vet, has returned to the US to serve in a different role with CVM. There is a huge gap to fill where she was at the university and in communities, so we really feel the pressure to be there serving. Just a few dozen more people committed to monthly financial support and we can look at one-way tickets! Will you help us?

06 January 2013

I promised some folks more information on STEER. This is a great organization that helps fund missionaries through livestock.
http://www.steerinc.com/
Steer will buy a cow, doe, ewe, etc for you to keep in your herd. They pay for the animal, the vet bills, and you provide labor and feed. When she calves/kids/lambs and the offspring is sold, the sales price goes to STEER (so you declare no income for taxes) and 85% goes to our ministry!
So, anyone out there who raises livestock (it also works on shares of milk or wheat) and would like to help us in this way, contact me for more info! It is a 3 year commitment through Steer.

01 January 2013

As we begin a new year, here is our blessing for you, our friends and co-laborers.

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator,Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour,and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide,be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.